New jail proposal draws ire

The state Bureau of Corrections would like to build another 2,000-plus capacity prison in Jackson Township, but residents there are already organizing to oppose the plan.

Sheila Moore, deputy press secretary for the Bureau of Corrections, Friday confirmed that a new facility with a 2,300-bed capacity at an estimated cost of $189 million is part of the bureau’s proposed capital budget.

The Jackson Township board of supervisors will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the township fire hall, to discuss the proposed project and give residents an opportunity to ask questions and offer input.

“We want them to stop the project right now,” said Pat Rusiloski, who resides near the State Correctional Institute at Dallas and who has often spoken out about the medium-security prison. “We don’t want them to consider this project for one more minute. We want it stopped.”

Moore said there have been meetings at the bureau regarding the proposal, but said approval could be years away. Gov. Ed Rendell must first approve the capital budget, then authorize construction of the facility, she said.

“What we have proposed is that we build a second prison on the current site,” Moore said. “The capital budget is a wish list. We don’t know when the project would be approved.”

Moore said the capacity at SCID is 1,750, but it houses 2,084 inmates, or 119 percent of its capacity. Twenty-five of the state’s 26 prisons are above capacity. Only the Quehanna Boot Camp is below capacity, at 80.3 percent.

Moore said the bureau’s plan would be to construct the facility and alleviate the overcrowding at the existing building. The bureau would like to see the population drop, either through the transfer or release of prisoners, she said. The operation would then be moved to the new prison and the existing facility would be razed.

“It really is premature to discuss specifics,” Moore said. “But if a new prison does go up there, it would be state-of-the-art and would pay for itself in eight years.”

She said the cost to maintain the current facility is exorbitant. A new prison, she said, would have better “lines of sight,” making operation more cost-effective. Moore said guards and other employees could be laid off, thus saving dollars.

Chris Miller of Shavertown said he has a hard time understanding the bureau’s logic.

“All our prisons are overcrowded,” Miller said. “I don’t see even a remote chance that prison populations will be reduced anywhere.”

Miller also said SCID is located in a growing residential area and bringing more inmates in would only increase the risk of safety.

“Why build another prison here?” Miller asked. “Just three or four years ago we had a most amazing prison escape there and we all lived in fear. And now they want to put us more at risk?”

Moore said she is not aware of anyone from the Bureau of Corrections planning to attend next week’s public meeting in Jackson Township.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Jackson Township Board of Supervisors will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the township fire hall, to discuss the proposed project and to give residents an opportunity to ask questions and offer input.

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State budget could include larger Jackson Twp. facility; residents near SCID rip plan.

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